


A not so usual love story

by IceboundEmu



Category: LoveLink (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Falling In Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:48:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27547855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceboundEmu/pseuds/IceboundEmu
Summary: AU portrayal very loosely based on Ryan's story in Lovelink, but since I write fix it fics for my own amusement it's going to be VERY loose.Marvel as I then flip this tale and it becomes Daniel's story too.Ryan/Daniel meet an interesting match on the Lovelink App.  It goes downhill from there?
Relationships: Daniel Anderson/MC, Ryan Byrne/MC
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1 - Ryan

**Author's Note:**

> For Firebirdie who couldn't stand Daniel vanishing off again, so I wrote this fic trying to get how much I missed Ryan out of my system too.
> 
> Hopefully this will eventually sort some stuff out.

It was a rainy Tuesday afternoon when you finally succumbed to your boredom and signed up to Lovelink.

The app had been downloaded on your phone for the best part of two weeks, sitting unused as you resisted the pointed words from your mother each time you phoned that you weren’t getting any younger, and a life lived alone was no life at all. 

Your mother had always been prone to melodrama though, her morbid fear since your eighteenth birthday had been that she would never see you settle down and get happily married. Your Father, used by now to her, was more laid back, expressing the opinion that if you were happy with where you were and in full health there was little to worry about, you’d meet someone in your own time. Not that your mother took it well, shrieking that you’d be alone and surrounded by cats by the time you hit thirty if left to your own devices.

Not that cats were a bad thing you thought as you spotted Leo prowling the hall in search of intruders only to be ambushed by Midnight, who’d taken up a predatory perch on the stairs. Laughing at the antics of your fur babies you opened up the app on your phone, resolving to create a profile if only to give your mother something to obsess over the next time you steeled yourself for a call home. Knowing your luck, she’d then take to worrying that you’d meet a serial killer, or worse, take up with someone already married and have an affair.

Programming in your personal details you uploaded a hasty selfie from your phone, mindful to pick one that didn’t show you with cats in shot, lest your potential dates also wrote you off as a crazy cat person. Setting your filters so that it only showed local matches and your preferred age range, though for some reason the app didn’t let you specify your preference in a partner’s gender (maybe they thought you’d like to explore all options). Then, suitably satisfied with your work, submitted the profile and prepared to dive into the dating pool.

The first profile was a bust, appearing as though it had been written by a 15 year old, a plethora of emojis and text speak convincing you to swipe left and consign them to the “never in a million years pile”. Ditto the next, which showed a scantily clad girl whose profile exclaimed “here for a good time, not a long time!!!” a sentiment which had you rolling your eyes and wondering whether she’d look back to regret this in ten years’ time. Chiding yourself for turning into your mother you glanced at the next picture and felt butterflies flutter in your stomach as you took in what it held.

A gorgeous redhead, with blue eyes stared back at you from the profile picture. Studying it further you had to bite back a squeal of glee as you realised, he had freckles smattered across his nose and cheeks, you acknowledged always had a weakness for boys with freckles. From the picture he looked to have been standing in some sort of restaurant when it was taken, outside, in a garden setting with strings of lights behind him. He wasn’t looking directly at the camera, his gaze focussed on something offscreen to the left, lips curled up in a daydreamy smile.

His profile gave his name as Ryan Byrne and describing himself as looking for true love didn’t do anything to hurt his interest. The rest of his profile was vague, he made no comment on what he did for a living (something your mother wouldn’t be happy about, having made it clear she’d approve more of a son in law who could afford to keep you at home to raise her grandchildren). He was enough to pique your interest.

“So what do you think Leo?” You proffered the screen of your mobile to your cat, who started at the display for a moment with what (to you) seemed profound interest before wandering off again to take up his favourite position on the front windowsill where he could watch for intruders in his kingdom.

“Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained I guess.” At this rate you were going to fulfil your mother’s worst nightmare and become a loner who talked to their cats. You figured it was too late if you started to believe you could hear them responding to you, but cutting back on the amount of conversation you had solely with them and adding a human to the equation surely couldn’t hurt. Crossing your fingers you swiped right, hoping that they’d like what they saw and give you an answering swipe back (and that they weren’t allergic to cats).

When the screen lit up to announce you’d matched with Ryan you almost dropped the phone in shock. Punching the air in victory you bounced back onto the sofa, wracking your brains to come up with a cool enough opening line to snare Ryan’s interest (and hopefully in time, his heart).

There were times when Ryan thought he could quite happily strangle Daniel. This was one of those times.

Installing Lovelink on his phone had been Daniel’s idea, his best friend deciding that he needed to find someone just as Daniel had and then they could experience the joys of double dating together, it would give Ryan something to come out of the lab for, it might convince him to take a much needed holiday, he’d have someone to spend the holidays with…once Daniel got started he seemed to have an endless list of reasons it was a good idea. It was easier for Ryan to just hand over his phone and allow Daniel to install the app than to listen to the two-hour lecture he appeared to have in mind should Ryan show signs of dissension. 

That Daniel then went though the entire process of setting up his profile, choosing his profile picture and programming in his introductory blurb should have given Ryan some hint of how serious he was about this. So when he found out a few days later than Ryan hadn’t so much as opened the app since, he’d immediately commandeered Ryan’s phone and was swiping though profiles whilst Ryan attempted to calm his churning stomach and eat lunch. The cafeteria of the lab where they both worked was hardly conducive to private conversation and he could feel himself blushing as he imagined the eyes of the other workers on them. Daniel wasn’t exactly being subtle.

“What about this one then?”

His phone was waved back in his face, and he struggled to focus and the picture was waved in front of his face. Struggling to swallow what the cafeteria assured him was a mouthful of Macaroni Cheese he waved irritably to get the phone out of his face.

“It’s a cat Daniel. I’m not dating someone’s cat.”

His friend smirked,

“What do you have against cats Ry?”

“I have nothing against cats Dan.” He allowed himself a smirk of triumph as he saw Daniel wince at the hated nickname, “I just want to date a person, not a cat”

“So no non-humans, good to know” He thanked his lucky stars that Daniel chose to swipe left and avoid an awkward conversation. “How about this one?”

A half-naked man covered in tattoos. “Next Daniel.”

“Professional Gamer?”

“Drop dead Daniel”

“Police officer?”

“When would we ever get time to be together? Shift work sucks”

“Firefighter?”

“Were you just listening?!”

“How about this one then?” Daniel spun the phone back round to him and he had to do a double take. His mouth went dry and his heart stuttered at the picture and he had the sudden sensation his blush had intensified tenfold. Not trusting himself to speak he nodded dumbly, and his friend took the leap for him, swiping right on the profile.

“What now?”

Daniel looked up at him, eyes glittering with triumph as a tinny fanfare played through his phone speaker and the screen lit up red.

“Looks like they like you too, so now you get to chat.”

Taking his phone back with hands that now trembled with anticipation he found himself hoping with all his heart that he didn’t screw this up.


	2. Chapter 2 - Daniel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Daniel Equivalent - Later than promised with a few minor amendments to descriptions and names as needed

It was a rainy Tuesday afternoon when you finally succumbed to your boredom and signed up to Lovelink.

The app had been downloaded on your phone for the best part of two weeks, sitting unused as you resisted the pointed words from your mother each time you phoned that you weren’t getting any younger, and a life lived alone was no life at all. 

Your mother had always been prone to melodrama though, her morbid fear since your eighteenth birthday had been that she would never see you settle down and get happily married. Your Father, used by now to her, was more laid back, expressing the opinion that if you were happy with where you were and in full health there was little to worry about, you’d meet someone in your own time. Not that your mother took it well, shrieking that you’d be alone and surrounded by cats by the time you hit thirty if left to your own devices.

Not that cats were a bad thing you thought as you spotted Leo prowling the hall in search of intruders only to be ambushed by Midnight, who’d taken up a predatory perch on the stairs. Laughing at the antics of your fur babies you opened up the app on your phone, resolving to create a profile if only to give your mother something to obsess over the next time you steeled yourself for a call home. Knowing your luck, she’d then take to worrying that you’d meet a serial killer, or worse, take up with someone already married and have an affair.

Programming in your personal details you uploaded a hasty selfie from your phone, mindful to pick one that didn’t show you with cats in shot, lest your potential dates also wrote you off as a crazy cat person. Setting your filters so that it only showed local matches and your preferred age range, though for some reason the app didn’t let you specify your preference in a partner’s gender (maybe they thought you’d like to explore all options). Then, suitably satisfied with your work, submitted the profile and prepared to dive into the dating pool.

The first profile was a bust, appearing as though it had been written by a 15 year old, a plethora of emojis and text speak convincing you to swipe left and consign them to the “never in a million years pile”. Ditto the next, which showed a scantily clad girl whose profile exclaimed “here for a good time, not a long time!!!” a sentiment which had you rolling your eyes and wondering whether she’d look back to regret this in ten years’ time. Chiding yourself for turning into your mother you glanced at the next picture and felt butterflies flutter in your stomach as you took in what it held.

A gorgeous brunette with brown eyes stared back at you from the profile picture. From the picture he looked to have been working in a lab (so you could tell your mother you were talking to a doctor? Hell, she’d have the wedding invites in the mail before you had a chance to finish the conversation), his gaze focussed on something offscreen to the right, his expression was serious but thoughtful.  
His profile gave his name as Daniel Anderson and using a Zombie Apocalpyse as an opener was a sure way to grab your attention.  
The rest of his profile made mention of him going to medical school, which confirmed what you’d suspected from his picture (something that your mother be would happy about, having made it clear she’d approve of a son in law who could afford to keep you at home to raise her grandchildren). Plus he wanted to save lives and he studied viruses! He was more than enough to pique your interest.

“So what do you think Leo?” You proffered the screen of your mobile to your cat, who started at the display for a moment with what (to you) seemed profound interest before wandering off again to take up his favourite position on the front windowsill where he could watch for intruders in his kingdom.

“Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained I guess.” At this rate you were going to fulfil your mother’s worst nightmare and become a loner who talked to their cats. You figured it was too late if you started to believe you could hear them responding to you, but cutting back on the amount of conversation you had solely with them and adding a human to the equation surely couldn’t hurt. Crossing your fingers you swiped right, hoping that they’d like what they saw and give you an answering swipe back (and that they weren’t allergic to cats).

When the screen lit up to announce you’d matched with Daniel you almost dropped the phone in shock. Punching the air in victory you bounced back onto the sofa, wracking your brains to come up with a cool enough opening line to snare Daniel’s interest (and hopefully in time, his heart).

There were times when Daniel thought he could quite happily strangle Ryan. This was one of those times.

Installing Lovelink on his phone had been Ryan’s idea, his best friend deciding that he needed to find someone just as Ryan had and then they could experience the joys of double dating together, it would give Daniel something to come out of the lab for, it might convince him to take a much needed holiday, he’d have someone to spend the holidays with…once Ryan got started he seemed to have an endless list of reasons it was a good idea. It was easier for Daniel to just hand over his phone and allow Ryan to install the app than to listen to the two-hour lecture he appeared to have in mind should Daniel show signs of dissension. 

That Ryan then went though the entire process of setting up his profile, choosing his profile picture and programming in his introductory blurb should have given Daniel some hint of how serious he was about this. So when he found out a few days later than Daniel hadn’t so much as opened the app since, he’d immediately commandeered Daniel’s phone and was swiping though profiles whilst Daniel attempted to calm his churning stomach and eat lunch. The cafeteria of the lab where they both worked was hardly conducive to private conversation and he could feel himself blushing as he imagined the eyes of the other workers on them. Ryan wasn’t exactly being subtle.

“What about this one then?”

His phone was waved back in his face, and he struggled to focus and the picture was waved in front of his face. Struggling to swallow what the cafeteria assured him was a mouthful of Macaroni Cheese he waved irritably to get the phone out of his face.

“It’s a cat Ryan. I’m not dating someone’s cat.”

His friend smirked,

“What do you have against cats Dan?”

“I have nothing against cats Ry.” He allowed himself a smirk of triumph as he saw Ryan wince at the hated nickname, “I just want to date a person, not a cat”

“So no non-humans, good to know” He thanked his lucky stars that Ryan chose to swipe left and avoid an awkward conversation. “How about this one?”

A half-naked man covered in tattoos. “Next Ryan.”

“Professional Gamer?”

“Drop dead Ryan”

“Police officer?”

“When would we ever get time to be together? Shift work sucks”

“Firefighter?”

“Were you just listening?!”

“How about this one then?” Ryan spun the phone back round to him and he had to do a double take. His mouth went dry and his heart stuttered at the picture and he had the sudden sensation his blush had intensified tenfold. Not trusting himself to speak he nodded dumbly, and his friend took the leap for him, swiping right on the profile.

“What now?” 

Ryan looked up at him, eyes glittering with triumph as a tinny fanfare played through his phone speaker and the screen lit up red. 

“Looks like they like you too, so now you get to chat.”

Taking his phone back with hands that now trembled with anticipation he found himself hoping with all his heart that he didn’t screw this up.


	3. Chapter 3 - Ryan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second part of the story where Ryan chats with his new match.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The wording is direct from your first conversation with Ryan. With a few minor amendments as Canon MC has a habit of saying "LOL" at inappropriate things.

_Hi!!!!_

You winced at your own prolific use of punctuation. Apparently cute boys brought out your inner 15-year-old.

_One Question_

Okay, as long as the question wasn’t whether you’d completely lost your mind.

_Um…Ok. Ask._

_You’re stuck on a deserted Island_

_And you can bring ONE person with you._

_Who do you bring?_

Okay, so he wasn’t put off by your opening, sounded like he was just as awkward and looking for an icebreaker. Question was, what was the correct response in this scenario that wouldn’t make this weird?

_Hmm…Let me think._

_You._

Apparently, your fingers had a different idea to your brain.

_Really?_

_Taking your chances with a stranger?_

_I like to live on the edge._

_Also, the stranger happens to be really hot._ 😉

Smooth move, not. You’d genuinely thought even you couldn’t mess up a text exchange. So far you were fairly sure you’d just come across as a letch.

_The stranger would accept your invitation._

Still the conversation kept going. He was either extremely flattered, or he’d had about as much luck as you in his love life.

_We might not live long,_

_I have zero survival skills._

According to your mother. Though she still held fast to the idea of you marrying a man that would take care of all that stuff, if she’d had her way, you’d have been chained to the kitchen sink. The closest you’d got to wilderness camping was a tent in the back garden.

_I have extensive medical training._

_You just doubled our chance of survival._

_I knew taking you was the right move._

Looking back at your statement you had to question the validity of your maths. Medical training probably was a valid skillset, but you’d still potentially freeze to death if you couldn’t find shelter or die from lack of food. So, you’d have to keep your fingers crossed for a tropical paradise, though that would probably come with its own drawbacks, spiders, snakes, hurricanes…

Plus, who the hell could you trust to look after you cats till you were rescued?

Breaking away from your musing on the drawbacks of survival fantasy you realised he was typing a further message to you.

_Hahaha_

_Smart move_

_So, when you’re not roleplaying castaway, what do you do for fun?_

_I swipe on dating apps._

Two could play this game.

_OMG. I do that same!_

_LOL. I was joking!_

_I know…but am I joking?_

Great, now the fun was over your awkward self was back. Implying you were dating multiple people at once probably wasn’t the best idea if you wanted to build on this.

_Hahaha_

_I guess I’ll have to keep texting you to find out._

_Or you could ask me on a date and get the details IRL_

Did you sound desperate enough? Rolling you eyes at your own response you waited for his. Or his rapid departure from the conversation.

_I would love to…_

_…but my schedule right now looks like a mess._ ☹

_Busy bee._

_What do you do?_

_I’m a Virologist._

_Finishing my PhD on fast-spreading viral diseases._

He was a doctor! Your mother would be so proud of you. As long as you could keep him away from the worst of the hypochondriacs in the family you might get somewhere.

_Wow! Impressive!_

_Ha ha. Thanks._

_A lot of people freak out when I tell them I work with viruses._

_Wusses._

_Not everyone likes the idea of working with these tiny monsters._

_You make viruses sound cute._

_Some are!_

_They can be cute and dangerous!_

_Like me._

Facepalm. Where the hell had that come from?

_Should I be worried?_

Very.

_Maybe._

_I’ll have to compare my profile pic to one of a cute virus I guess…_

_It’ll be a tough competition._

_What?_

_Are you saying there’s a virus cuter than me?_

_Google “Rotavirus” and you’ll see._

_I don’t think looking at pictures of deadly viruses will help our flirting._

_Trust me!_

_It looks awesome when you see it through a microscope!!_

_It looks like a toy. It’s amazing!_

_That does sound cool._

_I’ll check it out._

_You’ll see._

_It is a BEAUTY_

Sounded like the cute doctor really LOVED his work.

You felt a smile tugging at the corners of your mouth. Taking a short break from the conversation you did as he suggested and googled Rotavirus on the laptop. Reading what it caused was an education and to be fair the pictures didn’t really inspire any “Aww” reaction in you the way a kitten picture would, but his passion when he talked about it was something you could appreciate.

_Crushing hard on Rotavirus, aren’t we?_

_Just a little bit_

_Is that the virus you’re doing your research on?_

_No, I’m part of the VAC – X3 project._

_What is that?_

_We’re developing a vaccine for a super-virus_

_Sounds ominous_

_It is quite ominous._

_It spreads fast from person to person._

_Sounds like a bad horror movie._

You hated horror movies. Especially ones that were believable because they potentially could happen.

_Well it kind of is._

_Super-Viruses are the ultimate monsters._

_I need a bit more context on this_

_What is a super-virus?_

_It’s a virus that mutates as it reproduces._

_So, it’s tricky to develop medicines or vaccines for it._

_Which super virus are you working on?_

_I can’t give you a lot of details._

_I had to sign a lot of NDAs._

_LOL!_

_Way to ramp up the mystery._ 😉

_Sorry_ ☹

_We’re pretty far along, hopefully I can share more details soon._

_In the meantime._

_Not even a small detail?_

_This is the most I can show you right now._

He’d sent a photo of himself!

Sitting in what looked like a cafeteria, he’d managed to capture himself in the shot as well as another darker skinned, brown-haired doctor who was seated across from him. From the angle it also looked like he’d managed to put his elbow in whatever he’d been eating when striking a pose. You’d picked an adorable, clumsy, nerd of a doctor.

_You’re way cuter than any virus._

_Best compliment Ever._

_Crap. Lunch is over. Need to get back to work._

_Speak to you soon?_

_I’ll be counting the minutes._ 😊

As the icon showed he’d gone offline you couldn’t stop the smile on your face at how well the conversation had gone.

Which was wiped off about thirty seconds later when your phone began to ring. Your mother. Damn.

“Why are you so clumsy?”

Daniel offered him a napkin and grimacing Ryan attempted to wipe the worst of the goo off his elbow as they hurried back towards the lab. He’d thought to impress his match with a nice photo. The good feeling had lasted until Daniel had pointed out his elbow was in his food. Which was also in the shot, as was Daniel.

“It’s a curse. I was born this way.”

Which he promptly proved, in his rush not to be late he missed someone had spilled something on the floor until his foot shot out from beneath him and he fell backwards, cracking his head against the floor in a perfect fall. Stars swam in front of his vision and when they finally cleared, he became aware his best friend was standing over him, his face twisted with worry.

“I believe you. You don’t have to prove it again.”

Ryan took the proffered hand to help him back to his feet and moaned as the change of position caused his head to swim. Daniel secured an arm around his waist and began to move him in the direction of the medical bay. Ryan had reached to point where he was on first name terms with most of the nurses who worked there, still didn’t make it any better when he realised Dahlia, Daniel’s girlfriend was on duty today.

“What misfortune befell you today then?”

She was already smiling as they came through the door, Ryan figured that neither she nor Daniel were too bothered by an excuse to spend some more time together.

“Took a tumble in the hall, cracked his skull.”

“I slipped Daniel.”

“And fell over. Smacking your head in the process. Hush up and lie down Ryan”

“Don’t tell me what to do!”

“Lie down Ryan.”

“…yes Dahlia.”

He settled down on one of the beds and amused himself counting the tiles on the ceiling whilst the two lovebirds chatted, wondering what he’d discuss on his next conversation with his new match.


	4. Chapter 4 - Daniel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Daniel version of the previous chapter. One day someone is going to explain why it takes me so long to change the names in these?
> 
> Yes, I changed the name of the Girlfriend for Ryan. That's just me making my job more difficult.

_Hi!!!!_

You winced at your own prolific use of punctuation. Apparently cute boys brought out your inner 15-year-old.

_One Question_

Okay, as long as the question wasn’t whether you’d completely lost your mind.

_Um…Ok. Ask._

_You’re stuck on a deserted Island_

_And you can bring ONE person with you._

_Who do you bring?_

Okay, so he wasn’t put off by your opening, sounded like he was just as awkward and looking for an icebreaker. Question was, what was the correct response in this scenario that wouldn’t make this weird?

_Hmm…Let me think._

_You._

Apparently, your fingers had a different idea to your brain.

_Really?_

_Taking your chances with a stranger?_

_I like to live on the edge._

_Also, the stranger happens to be really hot._ 😉

Smooth move, not. You’d genuinely thought even you couldn’t mess up a text exchange. So far you were fairly sure you’d just come across as a letch.

_The stranger would accept your invitation._

Still the conversation kept going. He was either extremely flattered, or he’d had about as much luck as you in his love life.

_We might not live long,_

_I have zero survival skills._

According to your mother. Though she still held fast to the idea of you marrying a man that would take care of all that stuff, if she’d had her way, you’d have been chained to the kitchen sink. The closest you’d got to wilderness camping was a tent in the back garden.

_I have extensive medical training._

_You just doubled our chance of survival._

_I knew taking you was the right move._

Looking back at your statement you had to question the validity of your maths. Medical training probably was a valid skillset, but you’d still potentially freeze to death if you couldn’t find shelter or die from lack of food. So, you’d have to keep your fingers crossed for a tropical paradise, though that would probably come with its own drawbacks, spiders, snakes, hurricanes…

Plus, who the hell could you trust to look after you cats till you were rescued?

Breaking away from your musing on the drawbacks of survival fantasy you realised he was typing a further message to you.

_Hahaha_

_Smart move_

_So, when you’re not roleplaying castaway, what do you do for fun?_

_I swipe on dating apps._

Two could play this game.

_OMG. I do that same!_

_LOL. I was joking!_

_I know…but am I joking?_

Great, now the fun was over your awkward self was back. Implying you were dating multiple people at once probably wasn’t the best idea if you wanted to build on this.

_Hahaha_

_I guess I’ll have to keep texting you to find out._

_Or you could ask me on a date and get the details IRL_

Did you sound desperate enough? Rolling your eyes at your own response you waited for his. Or his rapid departure from the conversation.

_I would love to…_

_…but my schedule right now looks like a mess._ ☹

_Busy bee._

_What do you do?_

_I’m a Virologist._

_Finishing my PhD on fast-spreading viral diseases._

He was a doctor! Your mother would be so proud of you. As long as you could keep him away from the worst of the hypochondriacs in the family you might get somewhere.

_Wow! Impressive!_

_Ha ha. Thanks._

_A lot of people freak out when I tell them I work with viruses._

_Wusses._

_Not everyone likes the idea of working with these tiny monsters._

_You make viruses sound cute._

_Some are!_

_They can be cute and dangerous!_

_Like me._

Facepalm. Where the hell had that come from?

_Should I be worried?_

Very.

_Maybe._

_I’ll have to compare my profile pic to one of a cute virus I guess…_

_It’ll be a tough competition._

_What?_

_Are you saying there’s a virus cuter than me?_

_Google “Rotavirus” and you’ll see._

_I don’t think looking at pictures of deadly viruses will help our flirting._

_Trust me!_

_It looks awesome when you see it through a microscope!!_

_It looks like a toy. It’s amazing!_

_That does sound cool._

_I’ll check it out._

_You’ll see._

_It is a BEAUTY_

Sounded like the cute doctor really LOVED his work.

You felt a smile tugging at the corners of your mouth. Taking a short break from the conversation you did as he suggested and googled Rotavirus on the laptop. Reading what it caused was an education and to be fair the pictures didn’t really inspire any “Aww” reaction in you the way a kitten picture would, but his passion when he talked about it was something you could appreciate.

_Crushing hard on Rotavirus, aren’t we?_

_Just a little bit_

_Is that the virus you’re doing your research on?_

_No, I’m part of the VAC – X3 project._

_What is that?_

_We’re developing a vaccine for a super-virus_

_Sounds ominous_

_It is quite ominous._

_It spreads fast from person to person._

_Sounds like a bad horror movie._

You hated horror movies. Especially ones that were believable because they potentially could happen.

_Well it kind of is._

_Super-Viruses are the ultimate monsters._

_I need a bit more context on this_

_What is a super-virus?_

_It’s a virus that mutates as it reproduces._

_So, it’s tricky to develop medicines or vaccines for it._

_Which super virus are you working on?_

_I can’t give you a lot of details._

_I had to sign a lot of NDAs._

_LOL!_

_Way to ramp up the mystery._ 😉

_Sorry_ ☹

_We’re pretty far along, hopefully I can share more details soon._

_In the meantime._

_Not even a small detail?_

_This is the most I can show you right now._

He’d sent a photo of himself!

Sitting in what looked like a cafeteria, he’d managed to capture himself in the shot as well as another lighter skinned, freckled red headed doctor who was seated across from him. From the angle it also looked like he’d managed to put his elbow in whatever he’d been eating when striking a pose. You’d picked an adorable, clumsy, nerd of a doctor.

_You’re way cuter than any virus._

_Best compliment Ever._

_Crap. Lunch is over. Need to get back to work._

_Speak to you soon?_

_I’ll be counting the minutes._ 😊

As the icon showed he’d gone offline you couldn’t stop the smile on your face at how well the conversation had gone.

Which was wiped off about thirty seconds later when your phone began to ring. Your mother. Damn.

“Why are you so clumsy?”

Ryan offered him a napkin and grimacing Daniel attempted to wipe the worst of the goo off his elbow as they hurried back towards the lab. He’d thought to impress his match with a nice photo. The good feeling had lasted until Ryan had pointed out his elbow was in his food. Which was also in the shot, as was the red-headed demon himself.

“It’s a curse. I was born this way.”

Which he promptly proved, in his rush not to be late he missed someone had spilled something on the floor until his foot shot out from beneath him and he fell backwards, cracking his head against the floor in a perfect fall. Stars swam in front of his vision and when they finally cleared, he became aware his best friend was standing over him, his face twisted with worry.

“I believe you. You don’t have to prove it again.”

Daniel took the proffered hand to help him back to his feet and moaned as the change of position caused his head to swim. Ryan secured an arm around his waist and began to move him in the direction of the medical bay. Daniel had reached to point where he was on first name terms with most of the nurses who worked there, still didn’t make it any better when he realised Nicola, Ryan’s girlfriend was on duty today.

“What misfortune befell you today then?”

She was already smiling as they came through the door, Daniel figured that neither she nor Ryan were too bothered by an excuse to spend some more time together.

“Took a tumble in the hall, cracked his skull.”

“I slipped Ryan.”

“And fell over. Smacking your head in the process. Hush up and lie down Daniel”

“Don’t tell me what to do!”

“Lie down Daniel.”

“…yes Nicola.”

He settled down on one of the beds and amused himself counting the tiles on the ceiling whilst the two lovebirds chatted, wondering what he’d discuss on his next conversation with his new match


End file.
